Royal Bank of Canada Increases Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) Price Target to $210.00

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) had its price objective upped by Royal Bank of Canada from $208.00 to $210.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a sector perform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on MMC. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a buy rating to a sell rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $215.00 to $185.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $197.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $190.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $204.87.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

NYSE MMC opened at $202.41 on Friday. Marsh & McLennan Companies has a 1 year low of $171.47 and a 1 year high of $209.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.90 billion, a PE ratio of 25.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $202.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $196.91.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $6.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.38 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.84% and a return on equity of 34.14%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.53 EPS. Analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies will post 8.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 3rd. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is currently 36.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 9,994 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total transaction of $2,048,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 20,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,291,675. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Martine Ferland sold 9,128 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.63, for a total value of $1,840,478.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 9,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,012,065.77. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 9,994 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total transaction of $2,048,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 20,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,291,675. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 36,751 shares of company stock valued at $7,448,163 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marsh & McLennan Companies

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MMC. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 343.3% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. 87.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company Profile

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc, a professional services company, provides advice and solutions to clients in the areas of risk, strategy, and people worldwide. It operates through Risk and Insurance Services, and Consulting segments. The Risk and Insurance Services segment offers risk management services, such as risk advice, risk transfer, and risk control and mitigation solutions, as well as insurance and reinsurance broking, strategic advisory services, and analytics solutions, and insurance program management services.